Deepwater Nautilus Team Sets Subsea Completion Record

The ultra-deepwater semisubmersible Deepwater Nautilus team has accomplished the world's deepest subsea completion while working on the Shell-operated Coulomb project C-2 well in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at 7,570 feet (2,307 meters) of water. That water-depth record eclipsed the previous one held by the Discoverer Spirit set also in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico at 7,209 feet (2,197 meters) of water.

Setting the subsea tree is part of a two-well subsea tieback to the Na Kika project in Mississippi Canyon block 613 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where the Deepwater Nautilus team completed the first well, Coulomb C-2, in 13 days earlier this month and is working on completing the second well, Coulomb C-3. Petrobras is a partner in the C-3 well, and the Na Kika project is co-owned by Shell and BP.

Working with the other team members, including Transocean's clients and FMC, the subsea tree manufacturer, was personally rewarding for everyone involved in the new world water-depth record. Intensive planning efforts are paying off as the team is conducting operations without a lost-time incident and within clients' schedule and budget. The Deepwater Nautilus crewmembers look forward to continued success on the second completion well, and with the help of everyone on the team will be applying learnings from the first well as part of a continuous-improvement process.

The Deepwater Nautilus team also holds the world water-depth record for a rig operating in moored configuration at 8,717 feet (2,657 meters) of water, a mark set last year for Shell in Alaminos Canyon block 857 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.